Audio settings

ABSTRACT

Techniques are provided for a playback device to play a media item using an audio setting corresponding to the media item and characteristics of the playback device. An example implementation involves a first playback device transmitting, to a first computing device, information indicating one or more characteristics of the first playback device and queue information indicating one or more media items in a playback queue to be played by the first playback device. The example implementation may further involve receiving, from the first computing device, one or more audio settings associated with the one or more media items, the one or more audio settings corresponding to the one or more media items and the one or more characteristics of the first playback device and playing a first media item of the one or more media items according to a first audio setting of the one or more audio settings.

CROSS REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

This application claims priority under 35 U.S.C. § 120 to, and is acontinuation of, U.S. non-provisional patent application Ser. No.14/337,770, filed on Jul. 22, 2014, entitled “Audio Settings,” which isincorporated herein by reference in its entirety.

FIELD OF THE DISCLOSURE

The disclosure is related to consumer goods and, more particularly, tomethods, systems, products, features, services, and other elementsdirected to media playback or some aspect thereof.

BACKGROUND

Options for accessing and listening to digital audio in an out-loudsetting were limited until in 2003, when SONOS, Inc. filed for one ofits first patent applications, entitled “Method for Synchronizing AudioPlayback between Multiple Networked Devices,” and began offering a mediaplayback system for sale in 2005. The Sonos Wireless HiFi System enablespeople to experience music from a plethora of sources via one or morenetworked playback devices. Through a software control applicationinstalled on a smartphone, tablet, or computer, one can play what he orshe wants in any room that has a networked playback device.Additionally, using the controller, for example, different songs can bestreamed to each room with a playback device, rooms can be groupedtogether for synchronous playback, or the same song can be heard in allrooms synchronously.

Given the ever growing interest in digital media, there continues to bea need to develop consumer-accessible technologies to further enhancethe listening experience.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

Features, aspects, and advantages of the presently disclosed technologymay be better understood with regard to the following description,appended claims, and accompanying drawings where:

FIG. 1 shows an example media playback system configuration in whichcertain embodiments may be practiced;

FIG. 2 shows a functional block diagram of an example playback device;

FIG. 3 shows a functional block diagram of an example control device;

FIG. 4 shows an example controller interface; and

FIG. 5 shows an example flow diagram for playing a media item accordingto an identified audio setting.

The drawings are for the purpose of illustrating example embodiments,but it is understood that the inventions are not limited to thearrangements and instrumentality shown in the drawings.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION I. Overview

During production of an audio track, an artist may adjust, according tohis or her preferences, audio settings of the audio track whilelistening to the audio track being played by a particular playbackdevice or group of playback devices. However, due to differences incharacteristics of different playback devices, the audio track may sounddifferent when played by playback devices that are different from theparticular playback device or group of playback devices used by theartist.

In one instance, the artist of the audio track may set, for each of aplurality of different playback device models, one or more audiosettings corresponding to different playback configurations of arespective playback device model. The different playback configurationsof the respective playback device model may include configurations forgroups of playback devices, including the respective playback devicemodel.

While the discussions above refer to audio settings provided by anartist of the media item, one having ordinary skill in the art willappreciate that other providers of the media item, such as a producerassociated with the media item, a curator of a playlist that includesthe media item, or a sound engineer involved with the production of themedia item and/or the playback device, among others, may also provideaudio settings for the media item. Such audio settings may be referredto hereafter as “provider audio settings.”

Some examples described herein involve a playback device playing a mediaitem according to a provider audio setting that correspond to the mediaitem and one or more characteristics of the playback device. The one ormore characteristics of the playback device may include, among others, amodel of the playback device and a configuration of the playback device.The audio settings may include one or more of equalization settings,phase settings, and volume settings, among other possible audio playbackparameters. As such, the playback device may play the media itemaccording to an audio setting for the media item that was specificallyset by the provider for the model and configuration of playback device.Accordingly, the media item, as played by the playback device may soundsubstantially as the provider intended.

In one example, a playback device in a media playback system may receivedata indicating that a media item is to be played by the playbackdevice. In response to receiving the data, the playback device mayidentify an audio setting that corresponds to the media item and the oneor more characteristics of the playback device.

Upon identifying the audio setting, the playback device may play themedia item according to the identified audio playback setting. In oneexample, metadata associated with the media item may include parametersfor each audio setting available for the media item, and the playbackdevice may accordingly retrieve the parameters for the identified audioplayback setting from the metadata. In another example, metadataassociated with the media item may identify a location (i.e. uniformresource locator, or “URL”) where parameters for available audiosettings for the media item are stored. The playback device mayaccordingly access the parameters for the identified audio setting fromthe URL. In a further example, data indicating parameters for theidentified audio setting may be embedded in audio data associated withthe media item. Other examples are possible.

In one example, the playback device may be part of a group of playbackdevices configured to play the media item in synchrony (i.e. a zonegroup or bonded zone), and may be a group coordinator of the group. Inone instance, the playback device may relay to each playback device inthe group, audio data to be played by each respective playback device inthe group. In this instance, each playback device in the group mayindividually determine a respective audio setting according to which therespective playback device is to play the audio data.

In another instance, the playback device, as the group coordinator, may,for each playback device in the group, identify an audio setting for therespective playback device, and transmit, along with audio data to berendered by the respective playback device, the identified audio settingto the respective playback device for the respective playback devices toapply when playing the audio data.

In a further instance, the playback device, as the group coordinator,may, for each playback device in the group, identify an audio settingfor the respective playback, modify the audio data to be played by therespective playback device by applying the identified audio setting tothe audio, and transmitting the modified audio data to the respectiveplayback device for the respective playback device to render. Otherexamples are also possible.

As indicated above, the present discussions involve a playback deviceplaying a media item using an audio setting that corresponds to themedia item and characteristics of the playback device playing the mediaitem. In an embodiment, a method is provided. The method involvesreceiving, by a computing device, data indicating that a media item isto be played by a playback device, identifying, by the computing device,an audio setting that corresponds to (i) the media item and (ii) one ormore characteristics of the playback device, and causing, by thecomputing device, the playback device to play the media item accordingto the identified audio setting.

In another embodiment, a playback device is provided. The playbackdevice includes a processor and memory having stored thereoninstructions executable by the processor to cause the playback device toperform functions. The functions include receiving data indicating thata media item is to be played by the playback device, identifying anaudio setting that corresponds to (i) the media item and (ii) one ormore characteristics of the playback device, and causing the playbackdevice to play the media item according to the identified audio setting.

In yet another embodiment, a non-transitory computer readable memory isprovided. The non-transitory computer readable memory has stored thereoninstructions executable by a computing device to cause the computingdevice to perform functions. The functions include receiving dataindicating that a media item is to be played by a playback device,identifying an audio setting that corresponds to (i) the media item and(ii) one or more characteristics of the playback device, and causing theplayback device to play the media item according to the identified audiosetting.

While some examples described herein may refer to functions performed bygiven actors such as “users” and/or other entities, it should beunderstood that this is for purposes of explanation only. The claimsshould not be interpreted to require action by any such example actorunless explicitly required by the language of the claims themselves. Itwill be understood by one of ordinary skill in the art that thisdisclosure includes numerous other embodiments.

II. Example Operating Environment

FIG. 1 shows an example configuration of a media playback system 100 inwhich one or more embodiments disclosed herein may be practiced orimplemented. The media playback system 100 as shown is associated withan example home environment having several rooms and spaces, such as forexample, a master bedroom, an office, a dining room, and a living room.As shown in the example of FIG. 1, the media playback system 100includes playback devices 102-124, control devices 126 and 128, and awired or wireless network router 130.

Further discussions relating to the different components of the examplemedia playback system 100 and how the different components may interactto provide a user with a media experience may be found in the followingsections. While discussions herein may generally refer to the examplemedia playback system 100, technologies described herein are not limitedto applications within, among other things, the home environment asshown in FIG. 1. For instance, the technologies described herein may beuseful in environments where multi-zone audio may be desired, such as,for example, a commercial setting like a restaurant, mall or airport, avehicle like a sports utility vehicle (SUV), bus or car, a ship or boat,an airplane, and so on.

a. Example Playback Devices

FIG. 2 shows a functional block diagram of an example playback device200 that may be configured to be one or more of the playback devices102-124 of the media playback system 100 of FIG. 1. The playback device200 may include a processor 202, software components 204, memory 206,audio processing components 208, audio amplifier(s) 210, speaker(s) 212,and a network interface 214 including wireless interface(s) 216 andwired interface(s) 218. In one case, the playback device 200 may notinclude the speaker(s) 212, but rather a speaker interface forconnecting the playback device 200 to external speakers. In anothercase, the playback device 200 may include neither the speaker(s) 212 northe audio amplifier(s) 210, but rather an audio interface for connectingthe playback device 200 to an external audio amplifier or audio-visualreceiver.

In one example, the processor 202 may be a clock-driven computingcomponent configured to process input data according to instructionsstored in the memory 206. The memory 206 may be a tangiblecomputer-readable medium configured to store instructions executable bythe processor 202. For instance, the memory 206 may be data storage thatcan be loaded with one or more of the software components 204 executableby the processor 202 to achieve certain functions. In one example, thefunctions may involve the playback device 200 retrieving audio data froman audio source or another playback device. In another example, thefunctions may involve the playback device 200 sending audio data toanother device or playback device on a network. In yet another example,the functions may involve pairing of the playback device 200 with one ormore playback devices to create a multi-channel audio environment.

Certain functions may involve the playback device 200 synchronizingplayback of audio content with one or more other playback devices.During synchronous playback, a listener will preferably not be able toperceive time-delay differences between playback of the audio content bythe playback device 200 and the one or more other playback devices. U.S.Pat. No. 8,234,395 entitled, “System and method for synchronizingoperations among a plurality of independently clocked digital dataprocessing devices,” which is hereby incorporated by reference, providesin more detail some examples for audio playback synchronization amongplayback devices.

The memory 206 may further be configured to store data associated withthe playback device 200, such as one or more zones and/or zone groupsthe playback device 200 is a part of, audio sources accessible by theplayback device 200, or a playback queue that the playback device 200(or some other playback device) may be associated with. The data may bestored as one or more state variables that are periodically updated andused to describe the state of the playback device 200. The memory 206may also include the data associated with the state of the other devicesof the media system, and shared from time to time among the devices sothat one or more of the devices have the most recent data associatedwith the system. Other embodiments are also possible.

The audio processing components 208 may include one or moredigital-to-analog converters (DAC), an audio preprocessing component, anaudio enhancement component or a digital signal processor (DSP), and soon. In one embodiment, one or more of the audio processing components208 may be a subcomponent of the processor 202. In one example, audiocontent may be processed and/or intentionally altered by the audioprocessing components 208 to produce audio signals. The produced audiosignals may then be provided to the audio amplifier(s) 210 foramplification and playback through speaker(s) 212. Particularly, theaudio amplifier(s) 210 may include devices configured to amplify audiosignals to a level for driving one or more of the speakers 212. Thespeaker(s) 212 may include an individual transducer (e.g., a “driver”)or a complete speaker system involving an enclosure with one or moredrivers. A particular driver of the speaker(s) 212 may include, forexample, a subwoofer (e.g., for low frequencies), a mid-range driver(e.g., for middle frequencies), and/or a tweeter (e.g., for highfrequencies). In some cases, each transducer in the one or more speakers212 may be driven by an individual corresponding audio amplifier of theaudio amplifier(s) 210. In addition to producing analog signals forplayback by the playback device 200, the audio processing components 208may be configured to process audio content to be sent to one or moreother playback devices for playback.

Audio content to be processed and/or played back by the playback device200 may be received from an external source, such as via an audioline-in input connection (e.g., an auto-detecting 3.5 mm audio line-inconnection) or the network interface 214.

The network interface 214 may be configured to facilitate a data flowbetween the playback device 200 and one or more other devices on a datanetwork. As such, the playback device 200 may be configured to receiveaudio content over the data network from one or more other playbackdevices in communication with the playback device 200, network deviceswithin a local area network, or audio content sources over a wide areanetwork such as the Internet. In one example, the audio content andother signals transmitted and received by the playback device 200 may betransmitted in the form of digital packet data containing an InternetProtocol (IP)-based source address and IP-based destination addresses.In such a case, the network interface 214 may be configured to parse thedigital packet data such that the data destined for the playback device200 is properly received and processed by the playback device 200.

As shown, the network interface 214 may include wireless interface(s)216 and wired interface(s) 218. The wireless interface(s) 216 mayprovide network interface functions for the playback device 200 towirelessly communicate with other devices (e.g., other playbackdevice(s), speaker(s), receiver(s), network device(s), control device(s)within a data network the playback device 200 is associated with) inaccordance with a communication protocol (e.g., any wireless standardincluding IEEE 802.11a, 802.11b, 802.11g, 802.11n, 802.11ac, 802.15, 4Gmobile communication standard, and so on). The wired interface(s) 218may provide network interface functions for the playback device 200 tocommunicate over a wired connection with other devices in accordancewith a communication protocol (e.g., IEEE 802.3). While the networkinterface 214 shown in FIG. 2 includes both wireless interface(s) 216and wired interface(s) 218, the network interface 214 may in someembodiments include only wireless interface(s) or only wiredinterface(s).

In one example, the playback device 200 and one other playback devicemay be paired to play two separate audio components of audio content.For instance, playback device 200 may be configured to play a leftchannel audio component, while the other playback device may beconfigured to play a right channel audio component, thereby producing orenhancing a stereo effect of the audio content. The paired playbackdevices (also referred to as “bonded playback devices”) may further playaudio content in synchrony with other playback devices.

In another example, the playback device 200 may be sonicallyconsolidated with one or more other playback devices to form a single,consolidated playback device. A consolidated playback device may beconfigured to process and reproduce sound differently than anunconsolidated playback device or playback devices that are paired,because a consolidated playback device may have additional speakerdrivers through which audio content may be rendered. For instance, ifthe playback device 200 is a playback device designed to render lowfrequency range audio content (i.e. a subwoofer), the playback device200 may be consolidated with a playback device designed to render fullfrequency range audio content. In such a case, the full frequency rangeplayback device, when consolidated with the low frequency playbackdevice 200, may be configured to render only the mid and high frequencycomponents of audio content, while the low frequency range playbackdevice 200 renders the low frequency component of the audio content. Theconsolidated playback device may further be paired with a singleplayback device or yet another consolidated playback device.

By way of illustration, SONOS, Inc. presently offers (or has offered)for sale certain playback devices including a “PLAY:1,” “PLAY:3,”“PLAY:5,” “PLAYBAR,” “CONNECT:AMP,” “CONNECT,” and “SUB.” Any otherpast, present, and/or future playback devices may additionally oralternatively be used to implement the playback devices of exampleembodiments disclosed herein. Additionally, it is understood that aplayback device is not limited to the example illustrated in FIG. 2 orto the SONOS product offerings. For example, a playback device mayinclude a wired or wireless headphone. In another example, a playbackdevice may include or interact with a docking station for personalmobile media playback devices. In yet another example, a playback devicemay be integral to another device or component such as a television, alighting fixture, or some other device for indoor or outdoor use.

b. Example Playback Zone Configurations

Referring back to the media playback system 100 of FIG. 1, theenvironment may have one or more playback zones, each with one or moreplayback devices. The media playback system 100 may be established withone or more playback zones, after which one or more zones may be added,or removed to arrive at the example configuration shown in FIG. 1. Eachzone may be given a name according to a different room or space such asan office, bathroom, master bedroom, bedroom, kitchen, dining room,living room, and/or balcony. In one case, a single playback zone mayinclude multiple rooms or spaces. In another case, a single room orspace may include multiple playback zones.

As shown in FIG. 1, the balcony, dining room, kitchen, bathroom, office,and bedroom zones each have one playback device, while the living roomand master bedroom zones each have multiple playback devices. In theliving room zone, playback devices 104, 106, 108, and 110 may beconfigured to play audio content in synchrony as individual playbackdevices, as one or more bonded playback devices, as one or moreconsolidated playback devices, or any combination thereof. Similarly, inthe case of the master bedroom, playback devices 122 and 124 may beconfigured to play audio content in synchrony as individual playbackdevices, as a bonded playback device, or as a consolidated playbackdevice.

In one example, one or more playback zones in the environment of FIG. 1may each be playing different audio content. For instance, the user maybe grilling in the balcony zone and listening to hip hop music beingplayed by the playback device 102 while another user may be preparingfood in the kitchen zone and listening to classical music being playedby the playback device 114. In another example, a playback zone may playthe same audio content in synchrony with another playback zone. Forinstance, the user may be in the office zone where the playback device118 is playing the same rock music that is being playing by playbackdevice 102 in the balcony zone. In such a case, playback devices 102 and118 may be playing the rock music in synchrony such that the user mayseamlessly (or at least substantially seamlessly) enjoy the audiocontent that is being played out-loud while moving between differentplayback zones. Synchronization among playback zones may be achieved ina manner similar to that of synchronization among playback devices, asdescribed in previously referenced U.S. Pat. No. 8,234,395.

As suggested above, the zone configurations of the media playback system100 may be dynamically modified, and in some embodiments, the mediaplayback system 100 supports numerous configurations. For instance, if auser physically moves one or more playback devices to or from a zone,the media playback system 100 may be reconfigured to accommodate thechange(s). For instance, if the user physically moves the playbackdevice 102 from the balcony zone to the office zone, the office zone maynow include both the playback device 118 and the playback device 102.The playback device 102 may be paired or grouped with the office zoneand/or renamed if so desired via a control device such as the controldevices 126 and 128. On the other hand, if the one or more playbackdevices are moved to a particular area in the home environment that isnot already a playback zone, a new playback zone may be created for theparticular area.

Further, different playback zones of the media playback system 100 maybe dynamically combined into zone groups or split up into individualplayback zones. For instance, the dining room zone and the kitchen zone114 may be combined into a zone group for a dinner party such thatplayback devices 112 and 114 may render audio content in synchrony. Onthe other hand, the living room zone may be split into a television zoneincluding playback device 104, and a listening zone including playbackdevices 106, 108, and 110, if the user wishes to listen to music in theliving room space while another user wishes to watch television.

c. Example Control Devices

FIG. 3 shows a functional block diagram of an example control device 300that may be configured to be one or both of the control devices 126 and128 of the media playback system 100. As shown, the control device 300may include a processor 302, memory 304, a network interface 306, and auser interface 308. In one example, the control device 300 may be adedicated controller for the media playback system 100. In anotherexample, the control device 300 may be a network device on which mediaplayback system controller application software may be installed, suchas for example, an iPhone™ iPad™ or any other smart phone, tablet ornetwork device (e.g., a networked computer such as a PC or Mac™).

The processor 302 may be configured to perform functions relevant tofacilitating user access, control, and configuration of the mediaplayback system 100. The memory 304 may be configured to storeinstructions executable by the processor 302 to perform those functions.The memory 304 may also be configured to store the media playback systemcontroller application software and other data associated with the mediaplayback system 100 and the user.

In one example, the network interface 306 may be based on an industrystandard (e.g., infrared, radio, wired standards including IEEE 802.3,wireless standards including IEEE 802.11a, 802.11b, 802.11g, 802.11n,802.11ac, 802.15, 4G mobile communication standard, and so on). Thenetwork interface 306 may provide a means for the control device 300 tocommunicate with other devices in the media playback system 100. In oneexample, data and information (e.g., such as a state variable) may becommunicated between control device 300 and other devices via thenetwork interface 306. For instance, playback zone and zone groupconfigurations in the media playback system 100 may be received by thecontrol device 300 from a playback device or another network device, ortransmitted by the control device 300 to another playback device ornetwork device via the network interface 306. In some cases, the othernetwork device may be another control device.

Playback device control commands such as volume control and audioplayback control may also be communicated from the control device 300 toa playback device via the network interface 306. As suggested above,changes to configurations of the media playback system 100 may also beperformed by a user using the control device 300. The configurationchanges may include adding/removing one or more playback devices to/froma zone, adding/removing one or more zones to/from a zone group, forminga bonded or consolidated player, separating one or more playback devicesfrom a bonded or consolidated player, among others. Accordingly, thecontrol device 300 may sometimes be referred to as a controller, whetherthe control device 300 is a dedicated controller or a network device onwhich media playback system controller application software isinstalled.

The user interface 308 of the control device 300 may be configured tofacilitate user access and control of the media playback system 100, byproviding a controller interface such as the controller interface 400shown in FIG. 4. The controller interface 400 includes a playbackcontrol region 410, a playback zone region 420, a playback status region430, a playback queue region 440, and an audio content sources region450. The user interface 400 as shown is just one example of a userinterface that may be provided on a network device such as the controldevice 300 of FIG. 3 (and/or the control devices 126 and 128 of FIG. 1)and accessed by users to control a media playback system such as themedia playback system 100. Other user interfaces of varying formats,styles, and interactive sequences may alternatively be implemented onone or more network devices to provide comparable control access to amedia playback system.

The playback control region 410 may include selectable (e.g., by way oftouch or by using a cursor) icons to cause playback devices in aselected playback zone or zone group to play or pause, fast forward,rewind, skip to next, skip to previous, enter/exit shuffle mode,enter/exit repeat mode, enter/exit cross fade mode. The playback controlregion 410 may also include selectable icons to modify equalizationsettings, and playback volume, among other possibilities.

The playback zone region 420 may include representations of playbackzones within the media playback system 100. In some embodiments, thegraphical representations of playback zones may be selectable to bringup additional selectable icons to manage or configure the playback zonesin the media playback system, such as a creation of bonded zones,creation of zone groups, separation of zone groups, and renaming of zonegroups, among other possibilities.

For example, as shown, a “group” icon may be provided within each of thegraphical representations of playback zones. The “group” icon providedwithin a graphical representation of a particular zone may be selectableto bring up options to select one or more other zones in the mediaplayback system to be grouped with the particular zone. Once grouped,playback devices in the zones that have been grouped with the particularzone will be configured to play audio content in synchrony with theplayback device(s) in the particular zone. Analogously, a “group” iconmay be provided within a graphical representation of a zone group. Inthis case, the “group” icon may be selectable to bring up options todeselect one or more zones in the zone group to be removed from the zonegroup. Other interactions and implementations for grouping andungrouping zones via a user interface such as the user interface 400 arealso possible. The representations of playback zones in the playbackzone region 420 may be dynamically updated as playback zone or zonegroup configurations are modified.

The playback status region 430 may include graphical representations ofaudio content that is presently being played, previously played, orscheduled to play next in the selected playback zone or zone group. Theselected playback zone or zone group may be visually distinguished onthe user interface, such as within the playback zone region 420 and/orthe playback status region 430. The graphical representations mayinclude track title, artist name, album name, album year, track length,and other relevant information that may be useful for the user to knowwhen controlling the media playback system via the user interface 400.

The playback queue region 440 may include graphical representations ofaudio content in a playback queue associated with the selected playbackzone or zone group. In some embodiments, each playback zone or zonegroup may be associated with a playback queue containing informationcorresponding to zero or more audio items for playback by the playbackzone or zone group. For instance, each audio item in the playback queuemay comprise a uniform resource identifier (URI), a uniform resourcelocator (URL) or some other identifier that may be used by a playbackdevice in the playback zone or zone group to find and/or retrieve theaudio item from a local audio content source or a networked audiocontent source, possibly for playback by the playback device.

In one example, a playlist may be added to a playback queue, in whichcase information corresponding to each audio item in the playlist may beadded to the playback queue. In another example, audio items in aplayback queue may be saved as a playlist. In a further example, aplayback queue may be empty, or populated but “not in use” when theplayback zone or zone group is playing continuously streaming audiocontent, such as Internet radio that may continue to play untilotherwise stopped, rather than discrete audio items that have playbackdurations. In an alternative embodiment, a playback queue can includeInternet radio and/or other streaming audio content items and be “inuse” when the playback zone or zone group is playing those items. Otherexamples are also possible.

When playback zones or zone groups are “grouped” or “ungrouped,”playback queues associated with the affected playback zones or zonegroups may be cleared or re-associated. For example, if a first playbackzone including a first playback queue is grouped with a second playbackzone including a second playback queue, the established zone group mayhave an associated playback queue that is initially empty, that containsaudio items from the first playback queue (such as if the secondplayback zone was added to the first playback zone), that contains audioitems from the second playback queue (such as if the first playback zonewas added to the second playback zone), or a combination of audio itemsfrom both the first and second playback queues. Subsequently, if theestablished zone group is ungrouped, the resulting first playback zonemay be re-associated with the previous first playback queue, or beassociated with a new playback queue that is empty or contains audioitems from the playback queue associated with the established zone groupbefore the established zone group was ungrouped. Similarly, theresulting second playback zone may be re-associated with the previoussecond playback queue, or be associated with a new playback queue thatis empty, or contains audio items from the playback queue associatedwith the established zone group before the established zone group wasungrouped. Other examples are also possible.

Referring back to the user interface 400 of FIG. 4, the graphicalrepresentations of audio content in the playback queue region 440 mayinclude track titles, artist names, track lengths, and other relevantinformation associated with the audio content in the playback queue. Inone example, graphical representations of audio content may beselectable to bring up additional selectable icons to manage and/ormanipulate the playback queue and/or audio content represented in theplayback queue. For instance, a represented audio content may be removedfrom the playback queue, moved to a different position within theplayback queue, or selected to be played immediately, or after anycurrently playing audio content, among other possibilities. A playbackqueue associated with a playback zone or zone group may be stored in amemory on one or more playback devices in the playback zone or zonegroup, on a playback device that is not in the playback zone or zonegroup, and/or some other designated device.

The audio content sources region 450 may include graphicalrepresentations of selectable audio content sources from which audiocontent may be retrieved and played by the selected playback zone orzone group. Discussions pertaining to audio content sources may be foundin the following section.

d. Example Audio Content Sources

As indicated previously, one or more playback devices in a zone or zonegroup may be configured to retrieve for playback audio content (e.g.according to a corresponding URI or URL for the audio content) from avariety of available audio content sources. In one example, audiocontent may be retrieved by a playback device directly from acorresponding audio content source (e.g., a line-in connection). Inanother example, audio content may be provided to a playback device overa network via one or more other playback devices or network devices.

Example audio content sources may include a memory of one or moreplayback devices in a media playback system such as the media playbacksystem 100 of FIG. 1, local music libraries on one or more networkdevices (such as a control device, a network-enabled personal computer,or a networked-attached storage (NAS), for example), streaming audioservices providing audio content via the Internet (e.g., the cloud), oraudio sources connected to the media playback system via a line-in inputconnection on a playback device or network devise, among otherpossibilities.

In some embodiments, audio content sources may be regularly added orremoved from a media playback system such as the media playback system100 of FIG. 1. In one example, an indexing of audio items may beperformed whenever one or more audio content sources are added, removedor updated. Indexing of audio items may involve scanning foridentifiable audio items in all folders/directory shared over a networkaccessible by playback devices in the media playback system, andgenerating or updating an audio content database containing metadata(e.g., title, artist, album, track length, among others) and otherassociated information, such as a URI or URL for each identifiable audioitem found. Other examples for managing and maintaining audio contentsources may also be possible.

The above discussions relating to playback devices, controller devices,playback zone configurations, and media content sources provide onlysome examples of operating environments within which functions andmethods described below may be implemented. Other operating environmentsand configurations of media playback systems, playback devices, andnetwork devices not explicitly described herein may also be applicableand suitable for implementation of the functions and methods.

III. Example Methods for Media Playback According to Identified AudioSettings

As mentioned above, embodiments described herein involve a playbackdevice playing a media item using an audio setting corresponding to themedia item and one or more characteristics of the playback device.Method 500 shown in FIG. 5 presents an embodiment that can beimplemented within an operating environment involving, for example, themedia playback system 100 of FIG. 1, one or more of the playback device200 of FIG. 2, and one or more of the control device 300 of FIG. 3.Method 500 may include one or more operations, functions, or actions asillustrated by one or more of blocks 502-506. Although the blocks areillustrated in sequential order, these blocks may also be performed inparallel, and/or in a different order than those described herein. Also,the various blocks may be combined into fewer blocks, divided intoadditional blocks, and/or removed based upon the desired implementation.

In addition, for the method 500 and other processes and methodsdisclosed herein, the flowchart shows functionality and operation of onepossible implementation of present embodiments. In this regard, eachblock may represent a module, a segment, or a portion of program code,which includes one or more instructions executable by a processor forimplementing specific logical functions or steps in the process. Theprogram code may be stored on any type of computer readable medium, forexample, such as a storage device including a disk or hard drive. Thecomputer readable medium may include non-transitory computer readablemedium, for example, such as computer-readable media that stores datafor short periods of time like register memory, processor cache andRandom Access Memory (RAM). The computer readable medium may alsoinclude non-transitory media, such as secondary or persistent long termstorage, like read only memory (ROM), optical or magnetic disks,compact-disc read only memory (CD-ROM), for example. The computerreadable media may also be any other volatile or non-volatile storagesystems. The computer readable medium may be considered a computerreadable storage medium, for example, or a tangible storage device. Inaddition, for the method 500 and other processes and methods disclosedherein, each block in FIG. 5 may represent circuitry that is wired toperform the specific logical functions in the process.

As shown in FIG. 5, block 502 of the method 500 involves receiving dataindicating that a media item is to be played by a playback device, block504 of the method 500 involves identifying an audio setting thatcorresponds to (i) the media item and (ii) a one or more characteristicsof the playback device, and block 506 of the method 500 involves causingthe playback device to play the media item according to the identifiedaudio setting.

As indicated above, the method 500 may be performed by a computingdevice such as a playback system in the media playback system, acontroller device for the media playback system, or a server associatedwith the media playback system. In one case, the computing device may bethe playback device that is to play the media item. In one instance, thecomputing device may be a group coordinator of a group of playbackdevices that is to play the media item. In this instance, the computingdevice may be configured to receive data indicating the media item to beplayed by the playback devices in the group, and coordinating playbackof the media item by the playback devices in the group.

a. Receive Data Indicating that a Media Item is to be Played by aPlayback Device

At block 502, the method 500 involves receiving data indicating that amedia item is to be played by a playback device. The media item may be amedia item from a local music library or a media item provided by aservice provider. In one example, the media item may be identified in aplayback queue associated with a playback zone that includes theplayback device. In one case, the media item may have been individuallyadded to the playback queue. In another case, the media item may be partof an album or a playlist that was added to the playback queue.

The playback device may be a device similar to that discussed above insections II.a-II.d. As such, the playback device may be configured toplay media content from a variety of sources, including the local musiclibrary or service provider providing the media item. The playbackdevice may be one of a variety of models of playback devices. In oneexample, the playback device may be of a model that has threetransducers. In another example, the playback device may be of a modelthat has five transducers. Other examples are also possible.

In discussions herein, different playback devices may produce audiooutputs having different characteristics, including different frequencyresponses, different frequency ranges, and different volume ranges,among other examples. Playback devices of the same model may produceaudio outputs having substantially the same frequency response,frequency range, and volume range.

In one case, the media item is only to be played by the playback device.In another case, the media item is to be played by the playback devicein synchrony with one or more other playback devices. For instance, theplayback device may be configured as one device in a stereoconfiguration of two playback devices. In another instance, the playbackdevice may be configured as one of a center, left, right, left-rear, orright-rear device in a home theater configuration of multiple playbackdevices. Other such examples may exist.

In a further case, the playback device may be configured to play themedia item while positioned in one of multiple placement orientations.For instance, if the playback device is a rectangular device, a firstorientation may be a horizontal positioning of the playback device,while a second orientation may be a vertical positioning of the playbackdevice. The playback device may produce different audio output frequencyresponses when positioned in the different orientations. Other examplesare also possible.

Referring back to block 502, the data indicating that the media item isto be played by the playback device may be received when playback of aplayback queue including the media item has progressed to the mediaitem. In another example, the data may be received when playback of theplayback queue has progressed to another media item before the mediaitem. For instance, the data may be cached in anticipation of beingsubsequently played back. In a further example, the data indicating thatthe media item is to be played by the playback device may be receivedwhen the media item is added to the playback queue. Other examples arealso possible.

In one example, the computing device may receive the data from a seconddevice that is in the media playback system. In one case, if thecomputing device is a playback device, the second device may be acontroller device, a server associated with the media playback system,or a second playback device in the media playback system. In anothercase, if the computing device is a controller device, the second devicemay be a playback device, a server associated with the media playbacksystem, or a second controller device. In a further case, if thecomputing device is a server associated with the media playback system,the second device may be a controller device, a playback device, or asecond server associated with the media playback system. In some cases,a server associated with the media playback system may be a server for aservice provider from which the media playback system may receive andplay media content. Other examples are also possible.

b. Identify an Audio Setting

At block 504, the method 500 involves identifying an audio setting thatcorresponds to (i) the media item and (ii) one or more characteristicsof the playback device. The audio settings may include one or more ofequalization settings, phase settings, and volume settings, among otherpossible audio playback parameters. Characteristics of the playbackdevice may include, among other possibilities, a model of the playbackdevice, a playback orientation of the playback device, and a playbackgroup configuration of the playback device, as discussed above.Characteristics of the playback device may further include an age(and/or production year) of the playback device, a usage history (i.e.number of hours played) of the playback device, or a operationalenvironment (i.e. indoors or outdoors) of the playback device, amongother possibilities. The model of the playback device may also include aversion, type, or name of the playback device, among otherpossibilities.

As indicated previously, a provider (such as an artist, producer, orcurator, among others) of an audio track may determine an audio settingspecifically for the media item and the characteristics of the playbackdevice. In one case, the provider may determine, for each possiblecombination of the one or more characteristics of the playback device, adifferent audio setting based on what the provider believes provides theoptimal listening experience of the media item when the media item isrendered by the playback device having the respective one or morecharacteristics. As such, a plurality of audio settings may be availablefor the media item.

For instance, the provider may determine for optimal experience of themedia item, a first audio setting for a particular model of playbackdevices while the particular model is a left channel speaker of a stereoconfiguration, and positioned in a vertical orientation, and a secondaudio setting for the particular model of playback devices while theparticular model is in a stand-alone configuration, and positioned in ahorizontal orientation. Other examples are also possible.

In some cases, given a particular one or more characteristics of theplayback device, a respective audio setting corresponding to a mediaitem may also correspond to one or more other media items. For instance,a particular audio setting may correspond to one or more media items ina music album that includes the media item. In another instance, aparticular audio setting may correspond to all media items created by aparticular artist, producer, or record label, among others. As such, inone example, the respective audio setting corresponding to theparticular one or more characteristics of a playback device may be usedby the playback device when playing any one of the plurality of mediaitems in the album or collection.

Similarly in some cases, one of a plurality of audio settingscorresponding to one or more characteristics of the playback device maycorrespond to a genre of the media item. For instance, a curator of aplaylist may provide for a particular playback device (or group ofplayback devices) a first audio setting for a first genre of media itemsin one or more curated playlist, and provide a second audio setting fora second genre of media items in the one or more curated playlists. Inanother instance, the curator of a playlist may provide for theparticular playback device (or group of playback devices), a particularaudio setting to be applied to all media items by a particular artist,producer, and or record label, among others. Other examples are alsopossible.

Further, while discussions herein generally involve audio settingscorresponding to at least one or more characteristics of the playbackdevice, some cases may involve audio settings provided for media itemsor groups of media items, independent of the one or more characteristicsof the playback device (or groups of playback devices). In one case, anaudio setting for one or more media items in a curated playlist may beprovided by a curator of the playlist, in dependent of anycharacteristics of a playback device that may play the one or more mediaitems. For instance, the curator of the playlist may prefer more basscontent, and may accordingly provide for one or more media items in thecurated playlist, an audio setting having higher gain in the lowerfrequencies. Other examples are also possible.

As indicated above, the provider may be one or more of an artist of themedia item, a producer associated with the media item, and a curator ofa playlist that includes the media item, among others.

In one example, the determined audio setting may be a static settingsuch that a consistent audio setting is determined for the entireduration of the media item. In another example, the determined audiosetting may be a dynamic setting that changes over the duration of themedia item. For instance, the determined audio setting may include anequalization setting of higher gain in lower frequencies during thefirst half of the duration of the media item, and lower gain in thelower frequencies during the second half of the duration of the mediaitem. Other examples are also possible.

In one example, parameters corresponding to each audio setting thatcorresponds to the media item may be stored in association with the oneor more characteristics of the playback device. In one case, theparameters corresponding to each audio settings may be stored as part ofmetadata for the media item. In another instance, the parametercorresponding to each audio setting may be stored on a server, and themetadata for the media item may identify a uniform resource locator(URL) for where the parameters are stored. Other examples are alsopossible.

In one example, identifying the audio setting may involve identifyingthe one or more characteristics of the playback device. In one case, ifthe computing device is the playback device that is to play the mediacontent, the computing device may retrieve from memory storage and/orsensors on the computing device, information indicating the one or morecharacteristics of the playback device. For instance, a model number ofthe playback device may be locally stored, and an orientation of theplayback device may be determined based on one or more sensors on theplayback device.

In another case, if the computing device is a controller device or aserver associated with the media playback system, the data indicatingthat the media item is to be played by the playback device may furtherindicate the one or more characteristics of the playback device. In thiscase, the computing device may receive data indicating the one or morecharacteristics of the playback device from another device in the mediaplayback system, such as the playback device that is to play the mediaitem, another playback device in the media playback system, a controllerdevice, or a server associated with the media playback system. In oneinstance, the data indicating the one or more characteristics of theplayback device may be received in response to a request by thecomputing device for information on the playback device that is to playthe media item.

Upon identifying the one or more characteristics of the playback device,the computing device may identify among available audio settings, theaudio setting corresponding to the media item and the one or morecharacteristics of the playback device.

In one example, parameters for only an audio setting that corresponds tothe media item and the one or more characteristics of the playbackdevice may be stored or provided in the metadata for the media item whenthe computing device receives the metadata. For instance, a server suchas a service provider or a server associated with the media playbacksystem that is providing the metadata to the computing device mayidentify the one or more characteristics of the playback device, anddetermine a particular audio setting that corresponds to the media itemand the one more characteristics of the playback device. As such, theserver may modify the metadata for the media item to indicate parametersfor only the particular audio setting. In such a case, identifying theaudio setting corresponding to the media item and the one or morecharacteristics of the playback device may involve the playback deviceparsing the metadata to receive the parameters for the particular audiosetting.

In some cases, more than one audio setting may correspond to the mediaitem and the one or more characteristics of the playback device. Forinstance, as discussed above, a first audio setting corresponding to themedia item and the one or more characteristics of the playback devicemay be determined by a provider of the media item, and a second audiosetting corresponding to the media item and the one or morecharacteristics of the playback device may be determined by a curator ofa curated playlist that includes the media item.

In one case, the computing device may prompt a user who added the mediaitem to the playback queue (or otherwise provided a command to cause theplayback device to play the media item) to select from the more thanaudio setting options. In another case, the audio setting may beselected based on a context from which the media item is to be played bythe playback device. For example, the second audio setting may beselected if the media item was added to the playback queue when thecurated playlist was added to the playback queue, or if the media itemwas selected for playback from the curated playlist, while the firstaudio setting may otherwise be selected. Other examples are alsopossible.

c. Cause the Playback Device to Play the Media Item According to theIdentified Audio Setting

Upon identifying the audio setting, the method 500, at block 506,involves causing the playback device to play the media item according tothe identified audio setting.

In one example, the computing device may receive metadata associatedwith the media item that is to be played by the playback device. In onecase, the metadata may be received along with, or as a part of the dataindicating that the media item is to be played by the playback devicethat was received at block 502. In another case, the computing devicemay receive the metadata separately, and/or from another deviceassociated with the media playback system. In one instance, the metadatamay be received in response to a request for the metadata by thecomputing device.

As discussed above, in one case, the metadata may include parameters forthe identified audio setting. In some instances, the metadata mayinclude parameters for all available audio settings corresponding to themedia item, including the identified audio setting. In another case, asdiscussed above the metadata may identify a URL where parameters for theavailable audio settings are stored. In such a case, the computingdevice may access the URL to receive parameters for the identified audiosetting.

In another example, parameters or URLs to the parameters for theplayback equalization settings may be embedded and/or encoded within theaudio data of the media item. In one case, the playback device mayaccess the parameters for the identified playback equalization setting(either directly or via a URL) when the playback device decodes theaudio data for playback. Other examples are also possible.

In either case, if the computing device is the playback device that isto play the media content, the computing device may apply the parametersfor the identified audio setting when playing the media item.

As indicated above, the computing device may be one of a group ofplayback devices that is to play the media item in synchrony (i.e. azone group or bonded zone), and in one case, may be a group coordinatorof the group. In one instance, the computing device, as the groupcoordinator, may relay to each of the other playback devices in thegroup, audio data to be played by each respective playback device in thegroup. In this instance, each playback device in the group, includingthe group coordinator, may individually determine a respective audiosetting according to which the respective playback device is to play theaudio data.

In another instance, the computing device, as the group coordinator,may, for each playback device in the group, identify an audio settingfor the respective playback device, and transmit, along with audio datato be rendered by the respective playback device, the identified audiosetting to the respective playback device for the respective playbackdevices to apply when playing the audio data. In this instance, thegroup coordinator may effectively transmit to itself an audio settingidentified for the group coordinator to apply when playing the mediacontent.

In a further instance, the computing device, as the group coordinator,may, for each playback device in the group, identify an audio settingfor the respective playback, modify the audio data to be played by therespective playback device by applying the identified audio setting tothe audio data, and transmitting the modified audio data to therespective playback device for the respective playback device to render.

In another example, the computing device may not be a playback devicethat is to play the media item. For instance, as indicated above, thecomputing device may be a controller device or a server associated withthe media playback system. In one case, causing the playback device toplay the media item according to the identified audio setting mayinvolve generating modified audio data by applying the parameters forthe identified audio setting to the audio data for the media item to beplayed by the playback device, and sending the modified audio data tothe playback device for the playback device to play. Alternatively, thecomputing device may transmit the parameters for the identified audiosetting to the playback device that is to play the media item, and theplayback device may apply the parameters to the audio data for the mediaitem when the playback device plays the media item.

In another case, if the media item is to be played by a group ofplayback devices, the computing device may transmit to a groupcoordinator of the group of playback devices, identified audio settingscorresponding to each playback device in the group. The groupcoordinator may then process and distribute the identified audiosettings as described above.

In a further case, the computing device may individually transmit toeach playback device in the group, an identified audio setting thatcorresponds to each respective playback device in the group. Otherexamples are also possible.

As described in the examples above, one or more playback devices in amedia playback system may play, either individually as in synchrony as agroup, the media item according to an identified provider audio settingthat corresponds to the media item and one or more characteristics ofthe playback devices, thereby rendering the media item as intended bythe provider of the media item. Other examples are also possible.

IV. CONCLUSION

The description above discloses, among other things, various examplesystems, methods, apparatus, and articles of manufacture including,among other components, firmware and/or software executed on hardware.It is understood that such examples are merely illustrative and shouldnot be considered as limiting. For example, it is contemplated that anyor all of the firmware, hardware, and/or software aspects or componentscan be embodied exclusively in hardware, exclusively in software,exclusively in firmware, or in any combination of hardware, software,and/or firmware. Accordingly, the examples provided are not the onlyway(s) to implement such systems, methods, apparatus, and/or articles ofmanufacture.

Additionally, references herein to “embodiment” means that a particularfeature, structure, or characteristic described in connection with theembodiment can be included in at least one example embodiment of aninvention. The appearances of this phrase in various places in thespecification are not necessarily all referring to the same embodiment,nor are separate or alternative embodiments mutually exclusive of otherembodiments. As such, the embodiments described herein, explicitly andimplicitly understood by one skilled in the art, can be combined withother embodiments.

The specification is presented largely in terms of illustrativeenvironments, systems, procedures, steps, logic blocks, processing, andother symbolic representations that directly or indirectly resemble theoperations of data processing devices coupled to networks. These processdescriptions and representations are typically used by those skilled inthe art to most effectively convey the substance of their work to othersskilled in the art. Numerous specific details are set forth to provide athorough understanding of the present disclosure. However, it isunderstood to those skilled in the art that certain embodiments of thepresent disclosure can be practiced without certain, specific details.In other instances, well known methods, procedures, components, andcircuitry have not been described in detail to avoid unnecessarilyobscuring aspects of the embodiments. Accordingly, the scope of thepresent disclosure is defined by the appended claims rather than theforgoing description of embodiments.

When any of the appended claims are read to cover a purely softwareand/or firmware implementation, at least one of the elements in at leastone example is hereby expressly defined to include a tangible,non-transitory medium such as a memory, DVD, CD, Blu-ray, and so on,storing the software and/or firmware.

I claim:
 1. A method comprising: transmitting, via a playback deviceover one or more networks to a first computing device, informationindicating one or more characteristics of the playback device;transmitting, via the playback device over the one or more networks tothe first computing device, queue information indicating a first mediaitem from a plurality of media items in a playback queue to be played bythe playback device, wherein the playback queue is stored in memory onthe playback device, wherein the first media item is retrievable forplayback by the playback device from a second computing device that isphysically different from the first computing device, and wherein thequeue information is transmitted in response to determining thatplayback of the playback queue has progressed to another media itembefore the first media item; after transmitting the queue information,receiving, via the playback device over the one or more networks fromthe first computing device, one or more audio settings associated withthe first media item, the one or more audio settings corresponding tothe first media item and the one or more characteristics of the playbackdevice; and playing, via the playback device, the first media itemaccording to a first audio setting of the one or more audio settings. 2.The method of claim 1, further comprising: modifying, via the playbackdevice, audio data of the first media item based on the first audiosetting, and wherein playing the first media item comprises: playing,via the playback device, the modified audio data of the first mediaitem.
 3. The method of claim 1, wherein transmitting the queueinformation comprises: in response to determining that the first mediaitem is to be played next, transmitting a request for audio settings forthe first media item.
 4. The method of claim 1, wherein the playbackdevice is a first playback device, and wherein a group comprises thefirst playback device and a second playback device, and whereinreceiving the one or more audio settings associated with the first mediaitem comprises: receiving the first audio setting to be applied duringplayback of the first media item by the first playback device; andreceiving a second audio setting associated with the first media item tobe applied during playback of the first media item by the secondplayback device.
 5. The method of claim 4, wherein the first audiosetting is different from the second audio setting.
 6. The method ofclaim 4, further comprising: transmitting, via the playback device tothe second playback device, the second audio setting and the first mediaitem.
 7. The method of claim 4, further comprising: generating, via thefirst playback device, a first modified audio data by modifying audiodata of the first media item based on the first audio setting;generating, via the first playback device, a second modified audio databy modifying the audio data of the first media item based on the secondaudio setting; and transmitting, via the first playback device to thesecond playback device, the second modified audio data.
 8. The method ofclaim 7, further comprising: causing, via the first playback device, thesecond playback device to play the second modified audio datasynchronously with playback by the first playback device of the firstmodified audio data.
 9. A tangible, non-transitory computer-readablemedium storing instructions that when executed by a playback devicecause the playback device to perform functions comprising: transmitting,over one or more networks to a first computing device, informationindicating one or more characteristics of the playback device;transmitting, over the one or more networks to the first computingdevice, queue information indicating a first media item from a pluralityof media items in a playback queue to be played by the playback device,wherein the playback queue is stored in memory on the playback device,and wherein the first media item is retrievable for playback by theplayback device from a second computing device that is physicallydifferent from the first computing device, and wherein the queueinformation is transmitted in response to determining that playback ofthe playback queue has progressed to another media item before the firstmedia item; after transmitting the queue information, receiving, overthe one or more networks from the first computing device, one or moreaudio settings associated with the first media item, the one or moreaudio settings corresponding to the first media item and the one or morecharacteristics of the playback device; and playing the first media itemaccording to a first audio setting of the one or more audio settings.10. The tangible, non-transitory computer-readable medium of claim 9,wherein the functions further comprise: modifying, via the playbackdevice, audio data of the first media item based on the first audiosetting, and wherein playing the first media item comprises: playing,via the playback device, the modified audio data of the first mediaitem.
 11. The tangible, non-transitory computer-readable medium of claim9, wherein transmitting the queue information comprises: in response todetermining that the first media item is to be played next, transmittinga request for audio settings for the first media item.
 12. The tangible,non-transitory computer-readable medium of claim 9, wherein the playbackdevice is a first playback device, and wherein a group comprises thefirst playback device and a second playback device, and whereinreceiving the one or more audio settings associated with the first mediaitem comprises: receiving the first audio setting to be applied duringplayback of the first media item by the first playback device; andreceiving a second audio setting associated with the first media item tobe applied during playback of the first media item by the secondplayback device.
 13. The tangible, non-transitory computer-readablemedium of claim 12, wherein the first audio setting is different fromthe second audio setting.
 14. The tangible, non-transitorycomputer-readable medium of claim 12, wherein the functions furthercomprise: transmitting, to the second playback device, the second audiosetting and the first media item.
 15. The tangible, non-transitorycomputer-readable medium of claim 12, wherein the functions furthercomprise: generating a first modified audio data by modifying audio dataof the first media item based on the first audio setting; generating asecond modified audio data by modifying the audio data of the firstmedia item based on the second audio setting; and transmitting, to thesecond playback device, the second modified audio data.
 16. A playbackdevice, comprising: a processor; and memory storing instructions thatwhen executed by the processor cause the playback device to performfunctions comprising: transmitting, over one or more networks to a firstcomputing device, information indicating one or more characteristics ofthe playback device; transmitting, over the one or more networks to thefirst computing device, queue information indicating a first media itemfrom a plurality of media items in a playback queue to be played by theplayback device, wherein the playback queue is stored in memory on theplayback device, and wherein the first media item retrievable forplayback by the playback device from a second computing device differentfrom the first computing device, and wherein the queue information istransmitted in response to determining that playback of the playbackqueue has progressed to another media item before the first media item;after transmitting the queue information, receiving, over the one ormore networks from the first computing device, one or more audiosettings associated with the first media item, the one or more audiosettings corresponding to the first media item and the one or morecharacteristics of the playback device; and playing the first media itemaccording to a first audio setting of the one or more audio settings.17. The playback device of claim 16, wherein the functions furthercomprise: receiving, via the playback device, an instruction to add thefirst media item to the playback queue; and in response to receiving theinstruction, transmitting a request for audio settings for the firstmedia item.
 18. The playback device of claim 16, wherein the playbackdevice is a first playback device, and wherein a group comprises two ormore playback devices comprising the first playback device and a secondplayback device, and wherein receiving the one or more audio settingsassociated with the first media item comprises: receiving the firstaudio setting to be applied during playback of the first media item bythe first playback device; and receiving a second audio settingassociated with the first media item to be applied during playback ofthe first media item by the second playback device.